Scudrunners

WestJet -- oh my - finally has become an airline - it took 20 years

The WestJet Forum over on AvCanada certainly makes for depressing reading.

Ugly.

Just wait until crude oil hits 100 bucks again.  Fuel surcharges plus carbon taxes will mean no one can afford to fly. 

Pilot shortage -- Solved. 

Pretty simple formula for pilots and unions. The union was not a landslide vote and was pretty much divided down generation lines but as a company just try to fuck with seniority numbers or seat positions and the ranks firm up and move towards insanity at a great rate of knots. After being involved with ALPA, negotiations and over all insanity at some properties it's patience that usually brings the best results, especially in Canada where there are labour laws. Attack seniority or seniority related issues and we (pilots) always think with our dicks.

Things are getting very emotional over on AvCanada.

The latest are a bunch of guys denying each other [b]their[/b] jumpseat.

Sad to see people acting like little children.

As much as I don't like some pilot groups, denying someone a ride to from work is childish.   
I have no problem delaying a departure to get a junpseater on.

The other thing that bothers me is the "100% or nothing" attitude of a lot of the posters.

It doesn't work that way (at least in my experience).

There are always backroom deals and hidden agendas in any Union - experienced it first hand.

The best comment I've ever read was in a Pilot's Union magazine where a poster stated that a deal would be reached when both sides were equally unhappy!